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The Spurs, Adam Hanga, and a NBA’s longest-suffering Draft-and-Stashes

Thanks to reporting from EuroHoops, it looks like San Antonio’s second-round breeze collect all a approach behind from 2011 — Hungarian Adam Hanga — will be a Spur in 2017-18. Now that stashing players in general leagues is flattering common practice, we’re all used to a suspicion now that it can truly compensate off to be studious with a awaiting for a year or two. Heck, Dario Saric hardly left a American news cycle from when he was drafted in 2014 and until he finally debuted for a 76ers in a tumble of 2016.

While NBA teams can and do hold on to players’ breeze rights for a decade or more, we suspicion for certain that Hanga’s six-year accumulate was a longest layover between breeze night and an NBA entrance — that many rights-held players never do. Incredibly, Hanga and a Spurs aren’t violation any arrange of record. Turns out they aren’t even close. Here are a 6 other players in NBA story who were stashed divided for an equal or longer volume of time:

Six Years

Efthimi Rentzias

Debuted: 2002-03, Philadelphia 76ers

The 1996 Draft is straight-up iconic: Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash. And then, towards a behind of a initial spin — usually one container forward of Derek Fisher, we find Rentzias. Just a second Greek ever to play in a NBA, Rentzias spent many of his stashed time with Barcelona, where he was teammates with a teenage Pau Gasol. Teams contingency have unequivocally favourite Rentzias when they went to go director Gasol: it cost a Sixers dual second-round picks to trade for his rights in a summer of 2002.

Rentzias’ rookie agreement lasted three years — yet his NBA career lasted usually 35 games of a singular season. Even some-more hapless for Rentzias, one of a usually YouTube prominence reels of him in a Sixer uniform is, well, not many of a prominence tilt during all:

Debuted: 2012-13, Portland Trail Blazers

There’s a together star in that Freeland is a idealist collect by Portland: a group done him a final preference of a initial spin when he was still in Spain’s teenager leagues, with all sorts of prospect-y expansion still potentially means to happen. As it incited out, a roof was low: Freeland incited in 3 years of stout fill-in core work for Portland, it was behind to Europe after a 2014-15 season.

Even yet Freeland’s rights stayed within a Trail Blazers’ authorization for scarcely a decade, Portland has had something of a revolving doorway in a front office. After being drafted by Steve Patterson, Freeland stayed with a authorization even yet Kevin Pritchard, Rich Cho, Chad Buchanan, and finally Neil Olshey all quickly hold a reigns.

Seven Years

Drafted: 1994, Seattle SuperSonics

It’s tantalizing to demeanour during this footage from a 2001 preseason — Rebraca hidden a uncover while Michael Jordan is on a building — and devising him as a unlikely, bleach-tipped fifth starter for a Pistons’ 2004 championship:

Alas, predestine would have Rebraca pave a approach for an even larger legend: after assisting build with a Pistons for two-and-a-half seasons, Rebraca was dealt to a Hawks as partial of a trade that brought Rasheed Wallace to Detroit.

On breeze night 1994, a SuperSonics immediately traded Rebraca’s rights to a still-fledgling Minnesota Timberwolves. we have no idea given a Timberwolves didn’t pierce Rebraca over — ditto a still-fledgling Toronto Raptors, who acquired his rights in a 1999 trade. Rebraca is one of dual players on this list (the other is still to come) who done an All-Rookie Team. For any second-round pick: that’s phenomenal.

Drafted: 2002, Atlanta Hawks

Even yet Andersen was a Hawks’ usually breeze collect in 2002, during 36 overall, and even yet a group bottomed out as a 13-win authorization in 2004-05, Atlanta was apparently never meddlesome in indeed bringing Andersen stateside. It wasn’t until a certain male famous a value of a three-point-shooting core — that would be one Daryl Morey — that a gears began to spin to pierce Andersen to a NBA. In a summer of 2009, Morey gave a second-rounder and dual million dollars usually to get a rights to a then-29-year-old Australian.

Andersen’s NBA career finished after dual seasons and 103 games — in no tiny partial given he inked a understanding in Italy during a summer of 2011, when a NBA players were still sealed out. Looking during a footage of Andersen, it’s tantalizing to consider that, had he been born, like, 10 years later, no group would have let his floor-stretching bravery distortion idle for so long:

Drafted: 2008, Seattle SuperSonics

This one came together out of nowhere. The same day that Kaun strictly became a final actor picked by a SuperSonics, his rights were traded to Cleveland, where they sat abandoned for years and years as LeBron left afterwards came behind again.

Then a Cavaliers sealed David Blatt as their conduct coach. Not a large understanding for a ton of people — solely Blatt had usually spent years coaching Kaun with a Russian inhabitant team, including winning a bronze award during a 2012 Olympics together. Then Timofey Mozgov came into city by sheer coincidence, and Kaun spent his one and usually NBA deteriorate rolling by people with his Russian pals and LeBron James.

Plus: after a trade final summer, Kaun was on the Philadelphia 76ers’ tip sheet for $1.33 million this year. That’s $2.6 million dollars, a front-row chair for a NBA Finals, and a feat parade, all for 95 sum mins of play. Oh, and Kaun won a 2008 NCAA championship with a Kansas Jayhawks as a reserve. That’s a many sanctified basketball career there’s ever been.

Nine Years

Arvydas Sabonis

Drafted: 1986, Portland Trail Blazers

Debuted: 1995-96, Portland Trail Blazers

Alright, so this list is flattering damn skinny during a tip — until right here , with a Blazers’ idealist preference of Sabonis. The pick, during a finish of a initial round, came usually dual years after a Blazers done a many horrendously desirous pierce in breeze history, holding Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan given they already had a 2-guard. The beam change out usually a smidge, then, with Portland holding a honors for a comprehensive Most Patient Pick Of All Time.

You could contend that Sabonis was stashed not for 9 years yet for 10 given a Atlanta Hawks took him in a fourth spin of a seven-round 1985 Draft. However, that collect would indeed be voided by a league given Sabonis was underneath 21 years old. (Somehow, usually 10 years upheld between that violent statute and a attainment of Kevin Garnett.)

Let us applaud Sabonis, and a Blazers’ patience, with this silently puzzling footage of a greatest, many mind-bending pass I’ve ever seen.